-Naruto's Apartment-
-The Next Day-
Yawning, Naruto woke up. Yesterday's events rushing back to him, a frown rose up on his face, before returning to a smile as he turned to look at the hitai-ate on his nightstand, his hitai-ate.
Getting up, he got dressed in his signature orange jumpsuit, before tying his hitai-ate around his head. He was ready for his first day as an official ninja of Konoha. Or at least he would be, but his assignment wouldn't be given until the day after.
Reflecting back on his conversation with Iruka last night at Ichiraku's, Naruto brought Iruka's words back up in his mind.
'I'm sure you're excited about becoming a ninja Naruto, but you must keep in mind this only the first step on your journey.'
'Come on Iruka-sensei, this isn't the time for one of your famous lectures…'
Naruto remembered turning to face Iruka, only seeing his deadpan face as he cut him off.
'No, Naruto. Listen. I know you work hard, and I know that you managed to beat Mizuki last night. But don't let that get to your head. Honestly speaking, Mizuki is hardly stronger than your average genin, his promotion to chunin was mostly from his experience, not skill or talent.'
For the first time in his life, Naruto actually perked up and listened to one of Iruka's lectures.
'From now on, your half-baked jutsu won't cut it. And before you say anything, I know you can do a damn good Transformation, and that new Shadow Clone Jutsu you learned last night is nothing to scoff at, but other than those two, do you know any other jutsu? Not to mention your abysmal taijutsu and shuriken-jutsu.'
Naruto had wanted to get offended, but it was all true, heck, he couldn't even use a normal clone jutsu.
'The point is, is that your basics are weak. And while some, like history, might not seem critical in the heat of combat, you must remember that chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy.'
'I know, I know. But every time I sit down to read those boring books, I get antsy, I can't just sit still that long. Not to mention they make no sense anyhow.'
'Putting aside your lack of focus, what do you mean they make no sense?'
'Well, like I get we are ninjas and all, but do books really need to be written in code?'
As soon as he had said that last night, Iruka looked shocked, horrified even, and he was made to promise to meet up with Iruka the following day concerning 'the books written in code.'
Snapping back to reality, Naruto checked the time, realizing he had a little bit of time until he had promised to meet up with Iruka.
Having nothing else to do and pulling a prank at the moment probably being a bad idea after the previous night's affairs, Naruto decided to mess around with his new jutsu.
Flashing through a couple of hand signs, Naruto summoned a clone in front of himself.
'Hmm, I remember the scroll saying something about not being able to takes hits. I wonder?' x2
Without warning, both Naruto's swung at each other, socking one another in the face. One was sent flying across the room, while the other went 'poof' with a cloud of smoke being left behind.
With a groan, Naruto thought to himself, 'Shit, that hurt. Of course a clone of me would have the same idea as me. That idiot didn't realize he was a clone though.'
Sitting there for a moment in pain from being punched in the face, his own words eventually sank in.
'Wait a minute, my clones can think? Also, I can remember what they think?'
"Gah! I could have totally used this to get answers on all the tests this year! All I'd have to do is somehow tell the clone what the question was, then it could look up the answer and pop itself, and boom! Naruto the ace student!"
Wallowing in despair at the missed opportunity, Naruto soon got back up.
'Whelp, the past is in the past. More importantly, I wonder what else these clones can do?'
Curiosity engaged, Naruto summoned another couple clones, which all immediately sat down and began to brainstorm with him.
Not quite used to thinking about jutsu logically, Naruto had no clue what to do or what to consider when testing the limits of his jutsu. Luckily, he wasn't alone, one of his clones soon stood up, and flashed through a series of hand signs, transforming into Iruka.
Simultaneously, each Naruto looked shocked, as they shouted in unison, "Clones can use jutsu, too!"
The original also thought to himself, 'I'm starting to regret not reading what the clones are capable of while I still had the scroll!'
Nefarious plots and pranks naturally emerged in the minds of the various Naruto's, as they began to chuckle amongst themselves.
More importantly than any pranks though, was that he had to go meet up with Iruka to fulfill his promise. Scrambling out of his apartment, he yelled back to his clones, "Find something to do while I'm gone," as he ran off.
"He didn't specify what we had to do, right?"
Iruka was seated in his office at the academy, deep in thought. A pile of books lay before him on his desk, and he would periodically pick one up, browse through it, write something down, and then go back to thinking. A plan was forming in his mind, and on the paper before him.
And as said plan was reaching completion…
"Bang!"
The door to his office swung open, slamming into the wall, revealing the culprit. One Uzumaki Naruto.
"Reporting as promised, Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto saluted, back perfectly straight.
Unable to contain his laughter, Iruka burst out laughing as he motioned for Naruto to sit down across from him.
Catching his breath, Iruka suppressed the grin on his face at his former student's comedic timing. The business at hand was rather serious after all.
"Naruto, I appreciate your serious attitude, but the saluting and what not is not necessary."
"Nonsense, I am an official ninja of Konoha, everything is serious, and thus saluting is a necessity," Naruto replied matter-of-factly.
Once again, Iruka began to laugh, unable to contain himself at the sight of a serious Naruto, accompanying his laughter, was of course, Naruto's laughter.
Taking a minute to calm themselves down, Naruto opened up the conversation, "So anyway, what's up Iruka-sensei? What'd ya want to see me for today? Could it be that you miss your star pupil already?"
Chuckling to himself at his joke, Naruto was surprised, Iruka wasn't laughing along. Looking up at his face, Naruto found Iruka's face grave. Worried, Naruto forced himself to be more serious, as he focused on how Iruka would respond to his question.
Bowing his head, Iruka apologized, "Naruto, on behalf of the academy, I apologize. We have failed you."
Confused by the sudden apology, Naruto was silent for a moment before replying, "I don't know why you're apologizing Iruka-sensei. If it's about last night with Mizuki, then…"
"No Naruto, not about Mizuki. It's actually about your ability to read."
Still confused, "What do you mean Iruka-sensei? Its my fault for not learning to read the code properly, nothing you or the academy can be blamed for."
"Naruto, nothing assigned for you to read was in code."
"What do you mean? I saw the code with my own eyes. Sure not everything was in code, which was the only reason I didn't bomb every test, but I know for certain I saw stuff written in code."
Resigned, and looking almost sad, Iruka sighed, before continuing his explanation.
"It's probably quicker if I just show you."
Picking a book from his desk at random, Iruka flipped to a random page, before handing it over to Naruto.
"Read the first sentence on that page to me Naruto."
Naruto, taking a look at the book, stammered out a few words, "The chakra pathway is…is…enneshed…within the pody…"
Hearing enough, Iruka took the book back from Naruto, reading aloud the sentence he was meant to read, "The chakra pathway is enmeshed with the body, transporting chakra through the body and each organ as the circulatory system does blood."
"Well of course you can read it Iruka-sensei, you know how to read code, that's not fair."
The sadness in Iruka's eyes magnified, before he said, "Naruto, this book isn't in code."
Countless thoughts suddenly started racing through Naruto's mind before landing on one question, "What do you mean it isn't written in code?"
"Naruto, the reason why I'm apologizing to you is the same as why you think this book, and many others, are written in code. Naruto, you have a condition called Dyslexia. What it boils down to, is that some letters and words don't look quite right from your perspective."
Defeated, Naruto asked, "Like they're written in code?"
Iruka, nodding along, "Like they're written in code."
The room went silent. Naruto at first appearing confused, and then wide-eyed, as if everything suddenly made sense. Iruka just sat and watched these emotions develop on his former pupil's face.
"Is there a cure?"
"Unfortunately, Naruto, no, there is not a cure."
Once again, the room went silent, both teacher and pupil sitting in thought.
Breaking the silence, "Look, Naruto. I couldn't find a lot of information on your condition, so I don't know exactly how to help you. But I want to help you."
Naruto was still silent, looking down, lost in thought.
Iruka picked up the piece of paper he had been writing on prior to Naruto's arrival.
"However, I have come up with a plan that might work."
That caught Naruto's attention, naturally drawing his eyes to the paper in Iruka's hand. Motioning, he signaled for Iruka to continue.
"You see, there are three main components to it. One, meet up with me once a week for some practice."
Naruto struggled to hold back tears, Iruka was willing to waste time once a week helping him. He hated reading, but just the thought of spending time with one of his close ones was encouraging enough to make him willing to do it.
"Two, a lot of reading by yourself. You know what they say, practice makes perfect, and you'll need a lot of extra practice. And lastly, three, I want you to document your experiences with Dyslexia, what you do to help with it, what works, what doesn't. Every last bit should be written down."
'Those first two make sense, but what is the point of the documentation? How does that help me?'
As if he could hear Naruto's thoughts, Iruka continued, "I believe you understand why the first two components are so important, but you probably have your doubts about the third, right?"
Hearing Iruka's question, Naruto quickly nodded his head.
"The third is just as important as the first two components. Its purpose is two-fold, the first being practice with writing, and through reading your own writing, I am hoping it will help make other's writing easier to read."
The first point made a lot of sense to Naruto, and it made him curious about Iruka's second point.
"The second is that I hope you can one day publish your experiences to help others with your condition, and let your experiences pave the way for them to have an easier time themselves. Think of it this way, the words you write down today regarding your troubles could one day save someone else in the same situation you're finding yourself in now."
Hearing the second point, a cheeky grin rose up on Naruto's face, as he said, "I'd be a hero."
Nodding in agreement, Iruka replied, "You'd be a hero."
With a quick fist pump into the air, Naruto leapt across Iruka's desk, hugging his once-again teacher.
Returning the hug, Iruka calmed Naruto down before seating him to begin their first (of many) practice sessions for reading.
